Tuesday, 16 February 2010

'Ban **** Now' Of The Week...

A Scottish MP has demanded action to ban looped cords on curtains and blinds after two young children died in almost identical accidents just five days apart.

A terrible tragedy, yes. But noy unknown, if children are left alone in rooms containing these types of blinds.

Gordon Banks, MP for Ochil and South Perthshire, has been campaigning to improve safety since the death of Muireann McLaughlin, a two-year-old from Menstrie, Clackmannanshire who was hanged by the cord of a window blind two years ago.

Why is a ban always the first thing these people reach for? And what's going to happen when unattended children continue to hang or strangle themselves on other things?

A call for a ban on those too? Perhaps we should simply ban all cords, string, rope everywhere.

At least he only wants them banned in the UK. Some people have bigger ambitions:

Harrison's father Scott Joyce, 37, has set up a campaign called Harrison's Law, which is aimed at banning the manufacture of looped blind cords worldwide.

He wants a worldwide ban? Grief must have a funny effect on the thought processes. First delusion, that looped cords are on a par with land mines. Second delusion, that a worldwide ban is remotely achievable. Third delusion, that it would achieve anything at all when a figure 8 knot makes a pair of single strands into a loop in seconds. Unfortunately this is something that even a small child could do without their parents knowledge, and that makes any ban utterly pointless.

Normally I'd laugh and swear at him but I just can't. The poor guy must be being eaten away by his own grief. He's completely wrong but I feel too much sympathy to email him and point out why it can't possibly work. Besides, drawing attention to the risk is sensible and I'm all for that. Ironically, while I when I googled Harrison's law for their website I found it mentioned first on Urban Dictionary

"Harrison's Law is used in relation to beliefs or faith but does not have to involve god or religion."